Minister-nominee Lee So-young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 8th that to relieve the expense burden weighing on microbusiness owners and the self-employed—such as high interest rates, high inflation, accumulated debt, and delivery app fees—she would quantify management burdens and establish a roadmap to cut expenses.
Meeting reporters after finishing a tea talk at the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME) in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, that morning, the nominee said, "Microbusiness owners and the self-employed are surrounded by a complex set of difficulties, including the volume offensive by Chinese distributors, accumulated financial debt, a distribution structure shifting to online, declining consumer populations, and the hollowing out of local commercial districts."
In particular, she assessed, "The reason many feel that even hard work leaves nothing in hand is that the self-employed already have an expense structure that has become unsustainable." She said, "When taking a 20,000-won order, more than 6,000 won is paid to the delivery app side under various headings, and after paying various expenses with the remaining amount, many self-employed people cannot even take home their own labor costs."
The nominee emphasized that, if appointed Minister, she would improve the expense structure itself, going beyond funding support or piecemeal policies. She said she would analyze and quantify the total management burden on the self-employed and systematize scattered expense-relief policies to create a reduction roadmap.
On the delivery app issue, she said she would continue to push for a win-win plan with private delivery apps while also reviewing ways to foster low-fee delivery apps.
The nominee said, "It is also very important not to give up on a win-win plan and to keep working to produce one," but added, "It was a highly inefficient approach for the government recently to inject finances by supporting delivery fee coupons for public delivery apps."
Regarding the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) allocating a significant portion of its budget to delivery coupons, she said, "The government plan was put together before I was nominated as Minister," adding, "Simply supporting delivery fee coupons will make it difficult for consumers who do not use win-win delivery apps to download and use them."
She continued, "Even with the same fiscal input, it is more desirable to inject funds in ways that can yield 10 or 20 times the effect," and said that if appointed Minister, she would streamline the related budget during the National Assembly review.
On the Homeplus Co. situation, she said, "I heard the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) is considering various measures, including a Homeplus response," adding, "A few days ago I received a work briefing that measures will be announced."
Regarding recently raised allegations related to donations and nominations, she said, "I express regret that reporting was done in a sensational and malicious way without even checking the basic facts." She added, "I felt not only absurdity but also extreme humiliation at the use of phrases like 'borrowed-name donations' and 'nomination bribes.'"
On the controversy over supporting her mother's jeonse deposit, she explained, "I believe that resolving the housing of a financially struggling mother as a child's duty is the fulfillment of a support obligation." She added, however, "To avoid further unnecessary controversy, I plan to proceed with the gift tax filing and payment process."